Hi, i am new to the Husky forum and wanted to ask you if the the TE is a good bike for long distance touring. I used to have an xchallenge and i didn't like the bike that much, mostly because my specific model had so many issue and the dealer being not very helpful. so, all in all a bad experience. I've noticed that Touratech will make racks and panniers for the bike, plus there are others on the market. so my question is, how easy is to repair the bike, service intervals, known issues and fixes, and mods recommended? i would really appreciate your help, thanks, Daniel
I'm planning on some medium long distance touring. Backroads to the coast from Colorado and definitely baja touring will be what I'm looking to do along with multi night trips within the state. It has good gearing (6th gear!) and with a seat concepts seat isn't too bad comfort wise on the backside. No wind protection so that may be an issue at some point. Service intervals seem reasonable. You should be able to have the bike set up for a trip and not have to worry about anything for atleast 3k miles. I'd maybe advise against the heavy hard pannier setup on his bike. There some good soft luggage setups available. The new stuff isn't as weak and floppy as the old stuff. I'm running the wolfman rack system with their soft expedition dry side bags. The turbo city stuff looks good along with the giant loop products. If your long distance riding that is gonna involve some pretty rough terrain then this bike should be a good bet. If you're talking interstate, open 2 lane highways and just a little dirt here and there then maybe not the right platform. I have a KTM 950 that is a better all rounder minus maybe the really rough stuff.
I did two all pavement days of 375 miles with aggressive knobbies, on my 610 (Guerrero Negro to Ensenada both times). I cruised 75 the whole way, and was not at all beat up, could have done more except for the dim headlight. I did have a custom one-off Corbin seat, and the second time I had an X2 headlight with a plexiglass windscreen I fabbed. Those help. The 630 seems to be not quite so smooth a motor as the 610, but not enough to really make a difference. My KLR was only a slightly more comfortable a bike on pavement, likely do to it's 100lb greater weight making it a little more stable. But the brakes on the KLR really sucked, not to mention off road was a battle. I think if you want a thumper, this is the bike. The KTM 690 is likely sweet, but to me KTM stands for Kan't Take Mexico! I can get parts quickly for the Husky, i have heard too many tales of people waiting months for KTM parts, also what is the 690 maintenance picture like? Basically the price turned me off and I heard the transmission was a narrow range. The Suzuki DR650SE is another option, but oh not so sexy, nor as dirt capable without a lot of work, or as powerful. It has a stronger subframe for metal panniers, but I do not think the 630 would be difficult to beef up, however there is a lot to be said about a steel subframe that can be welded in any 3rd world town practically on the planet. Again though, I am pretty good at splinting and am sure i could rearrange, splint, strap things and limp along to the the next big burg that could weld aluminum. I would seriously without much prep, take the 630 round the world. The subframe is about all I would improve. At the sale price point, the 630 reigns supreme. it's a great Baja bike (why I bought mine,I have an 1150GS for milder stuff). I would love to have a TE310 for the more rugged Baja single track, but a skilled dirt rider would be OK on the 630, unfortunately I did not grow up riding motorcycles but came late to the game. The 630 is reliable once you go over and check everything, easy to maintain, and ever so capable, the sale price cannot be beat for value if there are any left.
Hi, thanks for your replies. Well, long distance to me would be long stretches of roads (secondaries) and even longer on gravel, and unpacked roads. I like the idea of a TE For its weight. So, it's mostly the service intervals and luggage capabilities that I'd like more info about. Thanks, Daniel
Not much. We had a Goldwing with a Down Syndrome passenger and a VTX with us. It was a hell of a trip, though.
I wouldn't buy it for hauling luggage on road. KLR it is not. Service intervals are a non-issue. Loading it with luggage is. OTOH Wolfman or Dirtbabz setups are a great way to haul some gear when needed. Burdening this type of bike detracts substantially from its design capabilities. Cody s and deepcdiver have summed it up pretty well.
Well you can download the owners manual, but oil change I believe it 3k miles, however I try cut those in half. Beef up the subframe and you could mount metal boxes (Touratech fortcoming, or on the market in Australia, or the forthcoming Wolfman pannier mounts would take Givi). All kinds of soft luggage opportunities exit to, I am a fan of DirtBagz myself.
IMO -- size matters when doing long days on on paved or graded roads. ie, bigger and heavier is better on non-challenging terrain. There is a reason why 99% of people that do big-mile trips have big bikes. A TE loaded with camping gear, tools and clothes can weigh an extra 75-80 pounds. And that weight makes it nicer on a long day, even on long dirt roads. The bike can easily handle that load, with soft side bags and a couple of duffels on top.
